One for Matt in particular. Nice interview pushing his new autobiography.


Livin' on a Prayer! Desmond Child on writing bombastic hits with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and more
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/30/livin-on-a-prayer-desmond-child-bon-jovi-aerosmith-dude-looks-like-a-lady

I have just come across this interview with Neil's sister talking about his death

NEIL PEART's Sister Opens Up About His Death: 'We Had Three And A Half Years To Prepare, So We Knew It Was Coming'
https://blabbermouth.net/news/neil-pearts-sister-opens-up-about-his-death-we-had-three-and-a-half-years-to-prepare-so-we-knew-it-was-coming

The TNMS Southern chapter will be gathering in London on Saturday 1st of July for a few beers and a chat.
Probably the Ship Inn, Holborn from 13:00-14:00 ish
All welcome for a drink and a chat

Don't let the fact that I will (probably) be there put you off

I have 2 spare tickets for Muse at The Milton Keynes Bowl on Sunday 25th June thanks to my kids having better things to do than hang out with their Dad. Anyone interested in joining me?
I am looking for £80 each which is basically the face value of tickets and if you live near Cambridge you can have a lift to the gig.

I have not listened to this yet but it includes Alex talking about Envy Of None

I know, most of you hated the album but it is being re-released on vinyl for Record Store Day and there is a new EP on June 9th

https://blabbermouth.net/news/alex-lifesons-envy-of-none-project-to-release-new-ep-that-was-then-this-is-now-in-june

One especially for Slim as he might not have seen it on the BBC

The Beatles: How a schoolboy made the band's earliest known UK concert recording
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65167799

WOW just wow

I have caused chaos on another site I frequent with this list.

So how many of these do you own?
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/horrible-albums-by-brilliant-artists-1234672895/

I'll admit to St Anger & Union

So what would you add to this list?

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, Living Colour's Vernon Reid and  Fishbone are among the guests who've contributed to a reggae re-imagining of David Bowie's classic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/david-bowies-ziggy-stardust-album-has-been-given-a-reggae-makeover-as-ziggy-stardub-with-the-aid-of-rushs-alex-lifeson-and-living-colours-vernon-reid

Do you dare...  https://youtu.be/xajye1EnIg0

There must be more video of this but to start with this is a drum cam of Jason Bittner playing Natural Science. Not Bad for a thrash metal drummer

Bubba Bash 2023 - Neil Peart Tribute Concert Jason Bittner and YYNOT -"Natural Science"
https://youtu.be/ftbRNaPBurc

and Tom Sawyer & Limelight
https://youtu.be/K7WFnKGbeOc

I will start early. This year has been a great year for music after a rather flat 2021. Here is my top 10

1 Coheed And Cambria - Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind
2 Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder - Get On Board (The songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee)
3 Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation
4 Envy Of None - Envy Of None
5 Marillion - An Hour Before It's Dark
6 Pure Reason Revolution - Above Cirrus
7 Eric Wagner - In The Lonely Light Of Mourning
8 Ian McNabb - Nabby Road
9 King's X - Three Sides Of One
10 Kenn Nardi - Trauma

My only worry is that the average age of band members in that list is probably way past retirement age    Having Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal and Dug Pinnik in the list doesn't help 

New old live recording

RUSH's GEDDY LEE And ALEX LIFESON Watch PRIMUS Perform 'A Farewell To Kings' In Its Entirety In Toronto

https://blabbermouth.net/news/rushs-geddy-lee-and-alex-lifeson-watch-primus-perform-a-farewell-to-kings-in-its-entirety-in-toronto

RUSH members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were in attendance on Friday (May 13) at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada as PRIMUS performed RUSH's 1977 album "A Farewell To Kings" in its entirety as part of the "A Tribute To Kings" tour with special guests THE SWORD.

On Sunday (May 15),Lee took to his Instagram to share a backstage photo of the RUSH and PRIMUS musicians, and he included the following message: "On Friday night we had the joyful experience of reuniting with our grand pals from PRIMUS... Les, Ler, Herb and their gang... We sat side stage as they immaculately worked through a cool selection of classic PRIMUS tunes which brought back fond memories of our touring together back in the early 90's and then we were treated to the weird and wonderful experience of watching them perform our music: A Farewell to Kings in it's entirety. Totally nailed it! They did us proud and we thank them deeply for the tribute and the lasting friendship."

PRIMUS frontman Les Claypool recently told the Nashville Tennessean about why he and his bandmates decided on "A Farewell To Kings": We always joked that we were going to play 'Hemispheres' in its entirety. And then it was, like, 'Well, maybe we should do something like that.' '2112' seemed a little too obvious. 'Moving Pictures' seemed a little too obvious. So, 'A Farewell To Kings' seemed like the right choice."

Regarding how PRIMUS approaches a tribute show, Claypool said: "I was one of those guys as a high schooler, sitting in the audience ... knowing every single note. RUSH fans are very scrutinizing. They'll tell you, we were one of the only bands accepted by the RUSH crowd back in the day when we were touring with them. That being said, it's very precious to a lot of people. We're taking it very seriously. I'll tell you, we've never rehearsed as a band this much in our lives as we did for this RUSH thing. We're doing it as close as we possibly can to the way they would do it."

As for PRIMUS's relationship with RUSH fans at each show, Les said: "There's usually like four or five people scattered towards the front [who] are so into it. They're singing all the words and some of them get teared up. It's pretty amazing. I know for me, as a teenager, RUSH was such a big part of me starting out as a musician. I see these people [who] all these years have been so devoted to that band. To have people have that experience is very endearing."

In the great traditions of TNMS we (the usual suspects - I'm just the publicist) are planning a Southern Softies Meet up in London on Saturday 28th May. The plan: meet up, drink beer, talk crap, stagger home.
The Venue: yet to be decided but central London somewhere.
Date: probably October.... 2023

Come along if you are free.

new album released on 2nd September

https://blabbermouth.net/news/kings-xs-new-album-gets-official-release-date

Everyone's at it 

Magna Carta will release "An All-Star Tribute To Rush" on deluxe 2CD digipak and deluxe 2LP red vinyl on June 24.

Iconic vocalists and venerated musicians come together on this bombastic tribute to prog rock superstars RUSH. The collection contains unique interpretations of tracks from throughout RUSH's stellar career, including their biggest hits "Tom Sawyer", "Spirit Of The Radio", "Working Man", "Red Barchetta" and many more. It features performances by Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW), Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE), James LaBrie (DREAM THEATER), Stu Hamm (JOE SATRIANI), Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), Jani Lane (WARRANT), Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT), Kip Winger (WINGER), FATES WARNING, Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG), Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER), Jack Russell (GREAT WHITE), John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER), Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE), George Lynch (DOKKEN) and more.

Track listing:

Disc 1

01. Working Man - Sebastian Bach & Jake E. Lee
02. By-Tor And The Snow Dog - James LaBrie & John Petrucci
03. Analog Kid - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
04. The Trees - Mike Baker & Brendt Allman
05. La Villa Strangiato - Steve Morse
06. Mission - Eric Martin
07. Anthem - Mark Slaughter & George Lynch
08. Jacob's Ladder - Sebastian Bach & John Petrucci
09. Closer To The Heart - FATES WARNING
10. Natural Science - Devin Townsend
11. YYZ - James Murphy
12. Red Barchetta - James LaBrie
13. Freewill - Gregoor van der Loo
14. Tom Sawyer - ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO

Disc 2

01. Distant Early Warning - Randy Jackson
02. Lakeside Park - Sebastian Bach
03. Limelight - Kip Winger
04. Subdivisions - Randy Jackson
05. Different Strings - Robert Berry
06. Tom Sawyer - Sebastian Bach
07. Bastille Day - Jani Lane & Alex Skolnick
08. A Farewell To Kings - Randy Jackson
09. Spirit Of The Radio - Kip Winger
10. 2112 Overture / Temples Of Syrinx - Jani Lane & Vinnie Moore
11. New World Man - Robert Berry
12. Fly By Night - Sal Marrano
13. Force Ten - Robert Berry

https://blabbermouth.net/news/an-all-star-tribute-to-rush-featuring-dream-theater-deep-purple-ex-skid-row-members-to-arrive-in-june/

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante will release a RUSH tribute EP titled "Moving Pitchers" on Saturday, April 23 as part of this year's Record Store Day.

The five-song EP, whose baseball-themed title is a play on the title of RUSH's classic 1981 album "Moving Pictures", is limited to 1,500 copies. It includes two tracks off "Moving Pictures", "Red Barchetta" and "YYZ", along with "Subdivisions", "Freewill" and "La Villa Strangiato".

Benante is joined on the effort by TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and KORN bassist Roberto "Ra" Díaz, CROBOT vocalist Brandon Yeagley, and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA keyboardist Mee Eun Kim. The musicians' RUSH covers were originally made available on Benante's YouTube channel in 2020, with each musician recording his or her part remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sounds fun....

https://blabbermouth.net/news/anthraxs-charlie-benante-to-release-rush-tribute-ep-moving-pitchers-this-weekend/

Hi Slim,
People who know better then me suggest you enable SSL as a default. Are we a security risk?

'That's it? It's over? I was 30. What a brutal business': pop stars on life after the spotlight moves on
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/16/pop-stars-spotlight-bob-geldof-robbie-williams-lisa-maffia

Found this an interesting article (but might not buy the book). Musicians after the fame and the music has gone. Strange how rock musicians (Robert Plant, Marillion, even Steven Wilson spring to mind) can go on and on (and not just as a nostalgia act) while others just run out of fans and support.

Liked this little opinion piece

https://unherd.com/2021/02/the-toxic-world-of-fandom/